


Hold My Hand So We Don't Get Lost

by Klik



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts(?), Feelings Realization, Fluff, I swear this will literally give you diabetes, M/M, Make Thanatos use his sword and fight/spar damn it, Mentioned Achilles/Patroclus, Pining, Sparring, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but still, eventual mutual pining, it exists - Freeform, more like hinted at
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27275248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klik/pseuds/Klik
Summary: A chronological story about two childhood friends, all told in multiple perspectives from the people of their destined intertwined lives.
Relationships: Achilles & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Hypnos & Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Nyx & Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Nyx & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 196





	1. Night

**Author's Note:**

> Aaand I'm back with another fluffy fic (*sighs in two more explicit wip fics*)  
> This one took a little while longer, since I planned it to be more than one chapter (and also because I had to practice characterization of characters more so they feel real)  
> Anyway, enjoy it as always, grab a snack or drink or whatever you feel like, and gush about two very sweet childhood friends  
> (no epilogue this time, you guys already know what happens)  
> Thank you again to my friend Luisa for beat'ing! Happy Bday broskie <3

"Zagreus?"

Night Incarnate called out from below her, looking for the small child near her feet. She turned her head to the side, and noticed the said child clinging onto her long dress at her back.

"My child," she called out again softly, "there is no need to be afraid."

The boy with mismatched eyes looked up at her, worry drawn all across his face. He clung onto Nyx's dress as he mumbled, "what if he hates me?"

"Why do you think so?"

"Hypnos said he's a big meanie."

"Oh, child," Nyx turned around to fully look at the small boy. She carded her fingers through his dark hair, relieving some of the fear. "Thanatos is not anything of the sort. He just wants the best for his brother, and that is why he is forceful at times."

Zagreus cocked his head to the side, his face now looking askance instead of worry. "Forceful? What does that mean?"

"Forceful means...he is strongly saying something. He might sound angry, but he is not. He just wants someone to understand," Nyx says softly, trying to explain it to the boy in the simplest way she could think of. Luckily, Zagreus seemed to understand, nodding his head.

"Maybe he's nice.." Zagreus hummed thoughtfully, and Nyx gave him a gentle smile as she continued to brush the boy's hair. "Thanatos is kind, in his own way."

Some moments later, a bronze bell rang throughout the House. Zagreus jolted in surprise by the loud sound, hiding back behind Nyx. Night Incarnate, on the other hand, knew who had just arrived. The House was basked in a green hue, and in a quick white flash, a floating silhouette was in front of the Lord's desk.

She felt the boy peek out her back, looking at the new arrival. Another boy, similar of his age, was in front of his father. He was holding a scythe at his back, and his chiton flew against the House's almost non-existent wind. 

The boy stopped talking, and Nyx called him by his name.

"Thanatos."

She felt Zagreus tense up, hiding back behind her. Worry and fear came back to him, suddenly nervous again about meeting the other boy.

Thanatos, her son and Death Incarnate, glanced over at the call of his name. He glided over to her, and took his place back down on the ground. "Mother," he greeted softly, "is there anything you need of me?"

Nyx nodded her head, and turned his head to the side. "Come out, my child. He won't hurt you."

Thanatos cocked his head to the side, seeing a glimpse of the one of the boy's eyes, a kind, soft green. Zagreus moved over to Nyx's other side, still fearful of the taller youth. Nyx simply gave a patient smile, putting a hand on the boy's back and easing him to move in front of her.

"Thanatos, this is Zagreus," she said as she gently led the boy to stand in front of her, but Zagreus still held onto the taller goddess. "He is Lord Hades' son."

"He's the prince..?" Thanatos asked softly, looking at his mother who gave a nod. Now Thanatos himself looked a bit worried, uneasy of standing in front of the royal son of the House.

"He is somewhat of the same generation as you, but you are still quite older," Nyx explains softly, "from now on, I will raise you and your brother together with him."

Zagreus turned his head to look at the taller boy. Golden eyes met the boy's mismatched ones, and those eyes piqued Thanatos' interest. One of the eyes reminded him of a certain woman, though, since his mother did not say anything about it now, he decided not to mention it.

"Can you show him around the House, my son?" Nyx asked softly, looking at his son who was still eyeing the other boy, "I would, yet I have duties to attend to."

Thanatos looked a bit reluctant, but nodded his head anyway, not wanting to disappoint his mother. He hummed loudly as he thought before offering his hand to Zagreus.

"Wh.."

"The House is large," said Thanatos, who then placed his scythe at his back and scratched his cheek with his free hand while he looked to the side, "I wouldn't want you to get lost."

"O-oh," Zagreus glanced at the hand offered to him, thinking for a moment before he held it with one of his own, squeezing a bit.

Nyx noticed a golden blush flash across his son's cheeks, and a red one on Zagreus' own. She smiled to herself, moving away a bit to let the boys start exploring the House.

"Don't wander too far," she reminded them, and she watched them start talking to each other and held each other's hands tightly as they walked away.


	2. Sleep

Hypnos...well...Hypnos wasn’t really the active one, so to speak.

Being deemed Sleep Incarnate by the Fates, he was eternally tired. Even if he tries to be more active and do more things, he ends up snoozing one way or another. Doesn't help that he has his favorite fluffy, cushioned blanket always following and surrounding him, tempting him to just sleep the day- or night- away.

He was half-awake when he met the new boy, Zagreus. The boy was a little bit awkward, but he soon warmed up to the sleepy godling and Hypnos joined him in some of his explorations of the chambers he was kept in temporarily. Hypnos was really intrigued by the other boy's feet, and though it didn't harm him the first time he brushed his hand against it, it felt like a weird sensation of warmth.

Hypnos soon told the boy about his twin, Death Incarnate himself, Thanatos. He wasn't trying to make his twin look bad in front of the boy per se, but he thinks he might've said something wrong when the boy seemed reluctant to meet his twin.

_ Must have been near to sleep back then _ , Hypnos thought, already going to snooze off to sleep again when the boat rocked under him. 

"Than, Hypnos, look!" Zagreus exclaimed behind him as he pointed to the destination ahead. "We're getting closer to Elyisum!"

Hypnos glanced back, his twin behind the prince. He wondered how the two got so close in just little time. Zagreus went from an awkward, nervous child to an enthusiastic, restless one.

Hypnos noticed a change in Thanatos too.

Thanatos seemed more relaxed and willing to spend time with them, unlike before. He noticed a sparkle in his brother’s eyes whenever he looked at Zagreus, or whenever his name was mentioned. When talking, he took some time before replying to the prince, an almost impossible stutter falling out of his lips when he finally did.

Hypnos didn’t understand it, why Thanatos was so awkward around Zagreus.

The Stygian Boatman, Charon, groaned softly to the three children, and they all sat back down as Charon rowed the boat into the different coursing waters of Elyisum’s rivers. The currents in Elysium flowed more, unlike in Asphodel that was almost stagnant magma everywhere you go. The change in currents rocked the boat a bit more intense than usual, and Hypnos held onto his older, stronger boatman brother.

He didn’t see it, but he could sense Zagreus holding onto Thanatos who was taller, who in turn instinctively held Zagreus with one arm and held onto the boat with the other.

Charon rowed the boat out of the rushing currents, the boat stopping its rocking and swimming against the calm, turquoise rivers of Elysium. The Elysian Fields’ artificial sun basked all of them in a bright blue-green hue, and they soon docked onto a field, Charon then groaned softly again, letting them step out of the boat. 

Zagreus carefully jumped out and landed on the lush grass, his flaming feet burning where he stepped but as soon as he walked to another place the grass began to grow again. Both Hypnos and his brother floated out, and they chased after Zagreus, who started to explore wherever he could. Hypnos heard Charon begin to set up shop, and he wanted to just stay behind in favor of sleeping again, but he figured Thanatos would need some help in supervising the energetic prince.

They ended up in the next room over, a fountain flowing with clean, pristine waters. Hypnos quickly floated over to it, floating just over the cold water in his cushioned blanket that always surrounded him. He's heard of Charon and Thanatos talking about how the fountains had a sense of tranquility, making anyone who was near it be calm instantly. 

_ Paradise _ , Hypnos thought with a cat-like smile as he watched his brother and Zagreus play, though it was more of Zagreus exploring and touching everything he could find interesting, and Thanatos floating close to him and giving insights on whatever Zagreus asked him about.

Hypnos was close again to dozing off when he heard Zagreus' voice get closer, and he opened his tired eyes.

"I can't believe you're sleeping when we're out here. You really can sleep anywhere, can you?" Zagreus commented with a chuckle. Hypnos hummed, floating around the waters with in senseless direction. "You should try it sometime."

"I can't. There's just so much to do," Zagreus said, almost in despair, sitting down by the fountain and leaning against the polished stone, "I wish we could explore more than the Fountain Rooms."

Thanatos floated over while shaking his head. "Elysium's rooms always rearrange and shift. You'd get lost easily without me or Hypnos."

Zagreus, somehow, took this as a challenge, and he smiled with determination, "well then, someday, I'll be able to explore all of Elysium and not get lost!"

The three boys chuckled, Thanatos in turn shaking his head again, "Charon wouldn't let us go farther anyway, and you wouldn't be able to get here otherwise."

"I'll figure something out!" Zagreus exclaimed before something caught his eye. A spot in the room started to glow, and Hypnos also turned his head in interest. 

Zagreus stood up from the fountain and walked over to the small bed of glow, examining it before turning to the brothers, looking like he'd seen something absolutely beautiful.

"They're flowers!" Zagreus exclaimed excitedly, picking a few of the glowing flowers before running back over to them.

Hypnos smiled at him and took the flowers Zagreus handed to him, twirling them lazily with his fingers .

"I've already seen them once when I went with Charon," commented Thanatos, "the glows last for a while after you've picked them."

"Maybe we could pick one when we go, for Mother Nyx," Zagreus suggested, but Thanatos' smile faltered a bit and he shook his head. "Afraid not. Things growing in Elysium don't last very long outside of it."

Hypnos knew that, remembering when he and Thanatos were much younger, trying to bring back the same flowers for their mother, but the flowers soon died just as they entered Asphodel.

Zagreus frowned, looking down and disappointed before he sighed and smiled softly. "Then we'll just have to enjoy the flowers from here. I wish Mother Nyx could see these flowers.."

Hypnos murmured an agreement, but he also wondered how Zagreus was so optimistic. He's seen it a few times before, Zagreus getting upset but then the next moment later he's moved past it and off to his next venture, whatever it may be. 

_ "It's like... a ray of sunshine in a way,"  _ Hypnos recalled Thanatos' own words describing the prince's optimism, tone almost in adoration.  _ "Like a sun in the darkest reaches of the world. And I've seen the sun...it's really bright." _

Hypnos wondered again why his brother thought that way. There are certain things he knew about his brother, but the way he spoke about the prince, who doesn't even have his own godhood yet, he wonders how he can think of the prince so highly.

While lost in thoughts, he placed the flower on his ear, brushing his hair behind his ear to place the glowing flowers there. Zagreus noticed this, and also did it too, placing the flower on his right ear next to his laurel.

"You too, Than," he reached up and brushed the taller's hair behind his ear. Thanatos' ears flushed a bright gold, and so did his cheeks.

"W-wait-" Thanatos stood up straight, as if to move away from Zagreus' hand, but Zagreus managed to reach him by tiptoeing and place the flower on his left ear.

"And there!" Zagreus stood back down on the ground. He looked at Thanatos, and a red blush also appeared in his cheeks. He smiled warmly and cupped Thanatos' cheeks, not caring if the flowers were still in his hands. "You look so pretty, Than!"

Thanatos blushed brighter, moving his face away from Zag's hands and looking away from him. Zagreus just chuckled at this and leaned over to look at Than's face again.

Hypnos watched this all happen, and he now realized why his brother adored the other boy so much, even without his godhood.

He smiled, silently complimenting Lady Aphrodite for her unexpected, but pleasant work.


	3. Hero

Achilles lost count of time after so many years in the Tartarus. 

Though, he made sure he didn't forget any memories. He wrote in the codex he owned, detailing all his experiences in the life he once lived, and the life- well, not really alive life- the life he now lived in the House.

He's been serving the House for years, and has seen souls come and go. He's also seen it's children grow into their teens, and to young men (though very slowly). Notably, the underworld's prince, Zagreus.

Hades one day entrusted him with the training of the prince, quote,  _ "to set the boy straight".  _ Achilles could see why the Lord would think that though. The prince was a very energetic boy, and soon, was causing quite the trouble in the underworld's realm.

He trained the boy in the act of swordsmanship, but also taught him all he knew about the world's history. He'd start talking about them after every break in training, and was happy to see the prince so eager and adamant to learn about everything on the surface.

Achilles soon developed a bond with the prince, taking a kind of mentor relationship with him, not only literally, but in all parts of the boy's life.

_ Especially  _ at one part of Zagreus' life.

Even though Zagreus was technically a god, he went through the same phases of life as a mortal boy did, and one of them was falling in love.

So, Zagreus approached him one day in the hall, a red blush on his cheeks, looking a bit more fidgety than he usually is. 

"Is something in your mind, lad?" Achilles asked softly, leaning down to look at the prince. Zagreus bit his lip, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck out of habit before he looked back at Achilles.

"Can.. can we spar a bit in the courtyard?" He asked in an uncertain tone, but Achilles knew what he meant.

Achilles learned that Zagreus calmed down and took his mind off things by having a spar, or how many it takes just for him to be able to gather his thoughts properly. He didn't mind, though, so he nodded his head and he followed him to the courtyard.

A good few swings of each other’s weapons here and there, Achilles with his spear and Zagreus with his Stygian blade. It started off a bit intense, but it soon mellowed down, and a sign was Zagreus slowing down and becoming disinterested in the spar, which was already their fourth. Achilles noticed this, and stood down, Zagreus sighing deeply and sitting down in the middle of the courtyard and placed the blade beside him. Achilles himself sat down across him, placing his spear on the ground.

“Are you okay, lad?” Achilles asked softly after a pause, and a blush rised again to Zagreus’ cheeks. The prince groaned loudly and hid his face in his hands, letting out another heavy sigh. “I-I don’t know, sir. Actually, I don’t know what I’m feeling. I.. I don’t know how to name it.”

“Oh?” Achilles raised a brow but gave Zagreus a patient smile, “you can tell me, if you want to. I might help you give a name to whatever you are feeling.”

Zagreus looked at him, bringing his hands down. He looked unsure and reluctant to spill out all his emotions, but Achilles only gave him a gentle look, silently telling him that it’s okay if he doesn’t want to tell him. Zagreus groaned again, his blush deepening.

“It's about Thanatos, sir.”

_ Oh? _

It was left unsaid, but Zagreus could see it in his mentor’s face, so he continued.

“It’s just… there’s something about him,” explained Zagreus, glancing around the room for words, “I don’t know if it’s just recently, or I’ve been feeling like this back then but,” he takes a deep breath and lets it out, starting to ramble, “it’s like what you said before. There’s butterflies in my stomach, I feel like my heart is about to burst every time I’m with him. There’s something about… about everything about him! How he’s smart and formal, but he’s a worrywart and casual when he lets his guard down, his voice, how he’s handsome and pretty at the same time, how he fights and how he smirks whenever he’s winning and how he gets a bit down when he loses, his  _ smile _ . Just.. just everything about him….sir? W-why are you looking at me like that?”

Achilles was looking at him with a smirk. It scared Zagreus a bit, how his mentor was almost looking into him, his very core, and the deepest parts of his heart.

Achilles, though, just by Zagreus’ first statements of  _ “there’s butterflies in my stomach”  _ and  _ “there’s something about everything about him” _ , he can already guess what the prince’s plight was.

"You still don't know what you are feeling?" asked Achilles, and Zagreus shook his head. The Shade chuckled and with a hum he said, "think about everything you've said just now."

Zagreus frowned, but sighed, looking down and staying silent as he started to think. 

Achilles smiled at his pupil, because he knows the feelings all too well. He's been there, before, and he might still be in that phase, but that's besides the point.

The Hero knew all too well the first signs of falling in love, and he watched with a smile as realization began to dawn on Zagreus' face.

"Oh," Zagreus breathed out, almost like he was lost in a cave and finally found the exit to enter the world again, " _ oh. _ "

" _ Oh _ , it is," Achilles chuckled softly as Zagreus' cheeks became redder. "Have you finally found a name for your feelings? Is it the right one?"

The prince himself now chuckled, nodding his head, "I suppose. I...it took me quite a while, didn't it. And I already told him he looked pretty with that long hair.."

They both stood up from the ground, Achilles taking his spear into his hands again and Zagreus taking the Stygian blade and putting it back. 

"So," Achilles started, "what do you plan to do with these feelings?"

Achilles noticed the prince tensed up, and he didn't look at the hero for a couple of moments before he turned his heel, flaming feet flickering more than usual.

"I...I don't know," Zagreus' tone changed, more melancholic. He walked to Achilles, a frown on his face, "I don't want to risk it. The friendship, I mean."

_ Ah. _

Zagreus sighed and tangled his fingers together at the back of his neck, looking down and drawing circles with the toes of his foot. "I'm just.. I'm afraid I might say something wrong, or he'll get weirded out by it, and... we'd no longer be friends anymore. I don't wanna hope too much that he'll return my feelings, but even if he didn't, I just wish we'd still be friends. I'm scared that he wouldn't want to anymore after I told him about what I feel."

Zagreus looked down for a while, the silence from the other making him visibly uneasy. He looked up and was about to apologize for rambling, but he felt a hand on his shoulder, the one that was exposed, slowly soothing him.

"S-sorry," Zagreus mumbled, bringing his hands down to his sides, but still avoiding Achilles's gaze. 

"Do not be," Achilles' voice was gentle, and it surprised Zagreus. Achilles thought that Zagreus had thought he'd be annoyed at the young boy's ramblings, but he knew the prince's emotions and plight all too well. 

It reminded him of his days with a certain man when he was alive…  _ no, not right now. _

"I understand your frustrations, lad," Achilles said softly, but there was a small smile on his face, "yet, do you remember what I taught you?"

The prince blinked, and realization dawned onto his face again when he understood what Achilles was trying to tell him. "Fear is for the weak."

"Exactly," the Hero nodded his head, "I am not forcing you to tell your feelings, but it would be better if the tension was lifted by letting him know about how you feel about him. Right?"

Zagreus looked unsure again, considering the opinion. Achilles can see on his face he's still very much worried about ruining such a close friendship, so he pushed one last time.

" _ Risk it all _ ."

_ Those words sound so foreign hearing it from myself. _

Those words echoed again in that certain man's voice in his head, and as if Zagreus could hear it himself, he looked at Achilles, but with a new sparkle in his mismatched eyes. His red eye looked less menacing somehow, as though it was softened by innocent young love.

" _ Risk it all _ ," Zagreus repeated. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He then finally smiled, looking up at his mentor again. "Thank you, sir. I'll find the right time."

"I'm sure you will, soon," Achilles reassured him with a gentle squeeze on his shoulder before he let go. They were about to walk out when a familiar toll rang throughout the courtyard.

"T-Than!" 

Young Death Incarnate was now in the room, floating above the ground as he usually did, scythe held in his hand and sword strapped to his hip. His golden eyes searched for the prince that called his name and once he saw him, Achilles caught sight of a golden blush form on the other's cheeks. 

"Zag," Thanatos greeted softly, but then his eyes darted to the other man in the room. "Sir Achilles," he regarded, his tone deliberately made serious.

Achilles nodded his head at Thanatos, and Zagreus walked over to the other boy and by habit, scratched the back of his neck. "W-why are you here?"

"Mother Nyx told me," Thanatos said, "she said you looked rather troubled when going here, so...I thought I'd check up on you."

"O-oh," Zagreus nodded his head, then cleared his throat before gesturing to his mentor, "we were just having a small spar. I was just a bit...bored...at that time. D-don't worry about it."

Now, here's what surprised Achilles. Thanatos, Death Incarnate, looked like he wanted to ask for more information. Zagreus was right, the usually brooding teen was a worrywart, and Achilles realized who Thanatos was such a worrywart for.

"... alright," Thanatos cleared his own throat and he scratched his own cheek with the hand that didn't have the gauntlet, "Well then, I assume your boredom is eased, now..?"

"A bit, yeah," Zagreus hummed loudku as he thought before he suggested suddenly with a smile and blush. "How about we do a little spar ourselves? You've got a little time...and...I want to... _ ahem,  _ I mean, we haven't spent time together for so long...I've forgotten how you fight."

Thanatos' blush got brighter, but he turned away before Zagreus could notice it. He looked back again and nodded his head, lowering himself onto the ground.

"I suppose we can have one spar," Thanatos then walked away for a moment and placed his scythe on the wall, letting it lean against it. He walked back to Zagreus and nodded his head. 

Zagreus smiled and turned to his mentor, who he remembered was still there, "we'll take it from here, if that's okay."

Achilles just chuckled and nodded his head without second thought. The two teens faced each other and smiled, Zagreus already walking to get the Stygian blade again and Thanatos placing his hand on the hilt of his sword that was attached to his hip.

Achilles, from that interaction alone, already knew how Thanatos felt for Zagreus. He'll just have to write in his codex how the peculiar, emotionless god of Death held such high regard for the prince, and how much he adored him.

He won't tell that to Zagreus, though. Why? Well, there's nothing more satisfying and life accomplishing than finding out the love of your life also loves you back, isn't there?

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this little fluff ball of a multichapter story! Scream more thanzag/zagthan to me at my Twitter  
> @/anghelhasfallen


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